Bob Dunning: It’s the water that makes you a Davisite

AND THE WINNER IS … proponents of Measure I are happily promoting poll numbers that indicate the Davis-Woodland surface water project enjoys majority approval in Davis … of course, we’re talking the project here and not necessarily the escalating rates that come with the project … those seemingly ever-changing rates, as some folks have complained, will not be on the upcoming ballot … to be sure, organizers did not release all aspects of the poll since they want to keep some of it secret in order to plan campaign strategy between now and March 5 when final ballots are due by mail in the county clerk’s office …

As a near-native in this town, I was amused to read that of the 300 people polled, only 8 percent rated Davis water as “excellent.” … had they asked me, I’d have been one of those saying “excellent,” and I suspect every person in that 8 percent is a longtime resident … while 29 percent rate our water as “good,” fully 39 percent say it is only “fair” and 24 percent rate it “poor.” … dealing with the same group of folks, 34 percent purchase bottled water, 33 percent have a water softener and 45 percent have a water filter …

Apparently, the Dunning family alone drinks water straight from the tap … no matter, if I were the guy selling bottled water for a living, I think might be considering another occupation if this thing passes …

EVEN MORE WATER WISDOM … I received a note from one outstanding citizen who says she’s not worried about rising water rates because “with a little conservation we can all see our water bills go down.” … a common misconception … unfortunately, Davis’ $113 million share of this project is a fixed cost, which means the more everyone conserves, the higher the rates must inevitably go …

ONE MORE BRIGHTLY BURNING CANDLE … Herb Bauer, the Conscience of Davis, turns 103 on Monday, Jan. 21, which has been declared a national holiday … all I can say is it’s about time …

SPEAKING OF MONDAY … those who intentionally or inadvertently leave the “Reverend” off Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s title are missing a fundamental part of the man, his motivation and his accomplishments … doubters should read his famous “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” to see how many times he mentions the Almighty and various other religious figures from Martin Luther to St. Paul to St. Augustine to St. Thomas Aquinas …

In one of the most moving parts of his long and deeply felt letter, the Rev. King writes “Human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability; it comes through the tireless efforts of men willing to be co-workers with God.” … a man with great respect for many religious views beyond his own Christianity, the Rev. King later adds “Jesus Christ was an extremist for love, truth and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment.” … amen, Brother Martin, amen …

NOT CHIPPER ANYMORE … last week, when University of Oregon head football coach Chip Kelly announced he was turning down a lucrative NFL offer to stay with the Ducks because he loved them all so much, I wrote that this was “good for the University of Oregon, good for the Pac-12 and good for college football in general.” … I concluded by saying “given that Oregon may yet face NCAA sanctions, it was also honorable for Kelly to stay put and face whatever music may play.” …

Now that Kelly has done an about-face and decided to bolt to the NFL after all, I will invoke the words of former Nixon press secretary Ron Ziegler, who so famously said that those words are now “inoperative.” …